Through the Portals of Time...On day three of the tour we headed across the Firth of Forth to the Kingdom of Fife and the picturesque village of Culross.
Originally a center of early coal mining, it's now a place to reflect on the past in buildings like Culross Palace, a large 17th century home built by the Sir George Bruce. Bruce was a mining pioneer, constructing the world's first coal mine to extend under the sea. His "palace" as well as the village also a key location for filming the TV show, "Outlander," which tells the story of a 1940s nurse transported back to the 18th century after encountering an ancient standing stone at Craigh na Dun. After spending a morning in atmospheric Culross Palace and wandering the streets of the historic village, it's easy to believe in time travel. |
Into the CountrysideOne of the pleasures of taking the Best of Scotland Tour was the balance between time spent in city, village, and countryside. Coming from hot and humid South Carolina, we welcomed the cool breezes and 50° temperatures in Perthshire and the Highlands. Brian, in addition to offering expert historical and cultural commentary throughout our itinerary (always with a dash of humor) also had an intuitive sense of how and when to wander off the beaten track. During the course of the day (and sometime in the early evenings) he led impromptu walks in nature preserves and forests and in one memorable instance, to an abandoned Victorian-era castle.
**Lessons Learned: If your Rick Steves tour guide offers to take the group on an impromptu walk, take a chance and go! |
St Andrews:The town of St Andrews is today mostly known as the place where the sport of golf developed over six hundred years ago. St Andrews was the second stop of our third tour day. Along with a continuous stream of golf pilgrims that visit the local links, the town also hosts the third oldest university in the English speaking world and the ruins of a vast cathedral that dates to 747 AD.
It's a thriving, historic, scenic place, and the only question was whether to walk around the town first or have lunch. We opted for lunch, and decided on fish and chips at Tailend, a well-known fishmonger and seafood restaurant. It was the real deal! Afterwards, we moved on to ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, then to a delightful little museum in the center of town with a walled garden, The St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum. |